Established 2018

Briscoe: Sitton Was Against Trump Before He Needed Him

Hardcore Conservatives love President Donald Trump and they have pretty good reasons for it. But that has not always been the case. In fact, some Republicans running for elected offices around the country once hated the very ground that Trump stood on. Now, they are embracing all of the votes that Trump could bring into their campaigns. One of them is Railroad Commissioner Ryan Sitton.

Many Texans are starting to feel like there are two sides to Sitton—the one that he plays up to the masses and the more two-faced sinister, spoiled brat that feels entitled to voters affection. That two faced nature shows in an opinion piece that Sitton wrote back in 2015 to the website TexasGOPVote.com.

In that opinion piece Sitton lays his disgust on the line saying “Please stop giving Donald Trump any credibility, credence as a political candidate, or your support in any poll you may participate in.” He goes onto say that “It is time to focus on legitimate candidates and leave Donald Trump to the liberal media who are salivating at the fact that his antics have propelled him to the top of some early Republican primary polls.”

To use his words he calls Trump a “Bad Joke” and says that Trump’s announcement speech sounded “narcissistic and braggadocios.” But that was then.

Today, Sitton’s other face is coming out. He is a “Forever Trumper” when speaks at conservative events. He smiles and grins, nearly moaning with fake support for the President. He flashes those bleached pearly whites to the seasoned citizens and pledges his unwavering loyalty to party and plan.

But then again, is that REALLY what Ryan Sitton believes?

Nobody knows because the only thing that is obvious is that Sitton believes that he is the future face of the Republican Party in Texas. In fact, he says that, too in the piece.

Sitton promotes himself as an anti-establishment Republican saying that “I am serving in elective office for the first time in my life, with my resume prior to office being that I was a successful businessman, engineer, and leader. I ran for office because I believe that we need new faces in politics.”

But then again, is that what Sitton really believes or is he just playing the Republican Party for a bunch of fools?

Sitton says that Trump’s past is “littered with bad relationships, bad business deals, and bad quotes.” While one could argue that Sitton is correct, he is not immune to those same charges, either.

Sitton “initially denied” claims of sexual misconduct earlier this month to Republican leadership. He was also proven to have left small businesses on the hook for hundreds of dollars right in his own backyard. While he still has not publicly addressed what claims he did obviously admit too and nor has he addressed owing small businesses hundreds of dollars, he is quick to hope that Republicans forget.

Sitton thinks that Republicans have a short memory and in hindsight he is right. But does Sitton really believe half of what he says or is it just more of an amateur politician trying to play the game?

While Republicans might be willing to overlook Sitton’s previous statements, others are looking at his actions and blatant denial of many facts. Just this week his controversial flaring report was called into question by even his alma mater, where some experts are calling the entire thing a sham.

Texas Republicans might want to ask themselves which Ryan Sitton are they voting for? Or perhaps they might ought to consider other choices who do actually know what they believe in and do not have to back off of previous statements like Sitton is now doing.